Nurses: Champions of Care

TORONTO, May 7, 2004 – As National Nursing
Week nears, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO),
in collaboration with the Registered Practical Nurses Association
of Ontario (RPNAO), will launch a public awareness campaign to highlight
the urgent need to improve elder health and elder care in our communities.

Transit and newspaper advertising will begin this weekend featuring
real-life photographs of healthy, active and independent seniors
who enjoy such things as gardening, cycling, teaching Tai Chi and
shopping at the market. The photographs also depict nurses caring
for these seniors in times of need. RNAO president Joan Lesmond
said, “The theme of the campaign, Nurses: Champions of Care,
builds on the associations’ policy work and aims to recruit
nurses to work with seniors.”

“While most seniors live healthy, active and independent
lives,” said RPNAO president Mona Black, “Others look
ahead to the day when programs that support seniors in the community
are the norm, not just institutionalization.”

Lesmond said nurses are advocating for solutions to create solid
and seamless community programs seniors can access and trust. “We
must move forward with the development of a coherent framework and
elder-care programs that the rest of Canada can look to for guidance,”
she added.

“We want to refocus the debate away from how the aging population
will bankrupt the health-care system and direct it to designing
better ways to connect with, and care for, seniors in communities
across Ontario,” said Black.

With more than 3.5 million people over the age of 65 in Canada,
the need to build strong community-based programs that are responsive
to the needs of older persons and that help them remain vibrant
participants in our society has never been so pressing. According
to RNAO and RPNAO, nurses have a vital role to play in shaping public
policy and delivering services to best serve seniors.

The campaign, funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
(MOHLTC), is part of the associations’ recruitment and retention
strategy. Components of the campaign include:

Transit advertising

More than 3,300 posters in TTC subway cars, buses, LRT, GO
Trains, and in transit shelters across Ontario, reaching an
audience of at least 65,824,000 over four weeks.

Four separate posters featuring real-life photographs of healthy,
active and independent seniors – gardening, cycling, teaching
Tai Chi and shopping at the market – accompanied by photographs
of nurses caring for these seniors in times of need. (Visit
www.rnao.ca[2] or www.rpnao.org[3]
to view the posters.)